KALIDAS, the mesmeriser......
Abhigyan Sakuntalam, The Play Was First Translated by Sir William Jones
The first Indian drama ever to be translated into a western language was Abhigyan Shakuntalam. The translation was done by Sir William Jones in 1789. Till 1889 the play was translated in 46 languages.
The appreciation of Shankutalaa by the great German poet Goethe is embodied in the oft-quoted translation of his words which runs as follows:
Would’st thou the young year’s blossoms
and the fruits of its decline,
And all by which the soul is charmed,
nraptured, feasted, fed.
Would’st thou the Earth and Heaven itself
in one sole name combine?
I name thee, O Sankuntala! and all at once is
said – Goethe
Period
Several ancient and medieval books state that Kalidasa was a court poet of a king named Vikramaditya . A legendary king named Vikramāditya is said to have ruled from Ujjain around 1st century BCE. A section of scholars believe that this legendary Vikramaditya is not a historical figure at all. There are other kings who ruled from Ujjain and adopted the title Vikramaditya, the most notable ones being Chandragupta II (r. 380 CE – 415 CE) and Yasodharman (6th century CE).
The most popular theory is that Kalidasa flourished during the reign of Chandragupta II, and therefore lived around 4th-5th century CE. Several Western scholars have supported this theory, since the days of William Jones and A. B. Keith. Many Indian scholars, such as Vasudev Vishnu Mirashiand Ram Gupta, also place Kalidasa in this period. According to this theory, his career might have extended to the reign of Kumaragupta I(r. 414 – 455 CE), and possibly, to that of Skandagupta (r. 455 – 467 CE).
The earliest paleographical evidence of Kalidasa is found in a Sanskrit inscription dated c. 473 CE, found at Mandsaur's Sun temple. His name, along with that of the poet Bharavi, is also mentioned in a stone inscription dated 634 C.E. found at Aihole, located in present-day Karnataka.
Theory of multiple Kalidasa
Some scholars, including M. Srinivasachariar and T. S. Narayana Sastri, believe that all the works attributed to "Kalidasa" are not by a single person. According to Srinivasachariar, writers from 8th and 9th centuries hint at the existence of three noted literary figures that share the name Kalidasa. These writers include Devendra (author of Kavi-Kalpa-Lata), Rajashekhara and Abhinanda. Sastri lists the works of these three Kalidasas as follows.
Kalidasa alias Matrigupta, author of Setu-Bandha and three plays (Abhijñānaśākuntalam, Mālavikāgnimitram and Vikramōrvaśīyam).Kalidasa alias Medharudra, author of Kumārasambhava, Meghadūta and Raghuvaṃśa.Kalidasa alias Kotijit: author of Ṛtusaṃhāra, Shyamala-Dandakam and Srngaratilaka among other works.
Sastri goes on to mention six other literary figures known by the name "Kalidasa": Parimala Kalidasa alias Padmagupta (author of Navasahasanka Charita), Kalidasa alias Yamakakavi (author of Nalodaya), Nava Kalidasa (author of Champu Bhagavata), Kalidasa Akbariya (author of several samasyas or riddles), Kalidasa VIII (author of Lambodara Prahasana), and Abhinava Kalidasa alias Madhava (author of Sankshepa-Sankara-Vijayam).
According to K. Krishnamoorthy, "Vikramaditya" and "Kalidasa" were used as common nouns to describe any patron king and any court poet respectively.
I will give another identification of Kalidasa from his work of Ranghuvansam.. He was own as Deepshikha Kalidasa also from the famous verse he wrote in describing the the moving Indumati with a lamp in her hand in the time of swayamvara.
We know the poet to be a master craftsman in employing various poetical alankaras ,especially Upama... It was his unique attribute which identified him from all others.
In Ranghuvansam, his another master piece, he has given an astonishing description of the princess Indumati moving with a lamp for instruction of the participating suite kings of the time. This Upama is so unique that Kalidasa is known for his uniqueness for this verse. The one we see being the writer of kumarasambhabam, rutusamhara, Ranghuvansam, Meghadutam and a few others.
सन्चारिणी दीपशिखैेवरात्रौ
यं यं ब्यतियाय पतिम्बरा सा
नरेन्द्र मार्गाट्ट इव प्रपेदे
बिबर्णभाबं स स भुमिपालः
The kings' faces faded one by one as the princess Indumati left each without choosing them after being introduced.. like the mansions in both sides of the highway become dislluminated when somebody moves with a lamp in a dark night. Master Upama... Friends...Unique and unsecond...Coming from the mind of a mortal. Ah..
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